Ukraine is now the world leader in drone construction.Image: keystone
In the war against Russia, Ukraine has developed the most modern drone know-how. The USA also wants to benefit from this. Because their military has a problem.
July 28, 2026, 04:35July 28, 2026, 04:35
Christoph Cöln / t-online
Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law, has forced the government in Kiev to reorganize its arms production. The country has made enormous progress in this regard in recent years. Ukraine is now the world leader in drone construction.
The US military also wants to upgrade its drones. According to official information, Washington’s army is lagging far behind Ukraine in establishing its own drone production. The U.S. is in the difficult early stages, Travis Metz, who leads the U.S. Department of Defense’s drone program, said in a statement on Monday, according to Reuters.
While Ukraine is expected to produce six to seven million small attack drones this year, the $1.1 billion US program will only have ordered a total of just under 200,000 units by February. However, the path from zero to 200,000 is significantly more difficult than the later expansion of production, explained Metz.
USA wants to become drone “world champion”.
The construction will also be made more difficult by new requirements from the Pentagon, according to which military drones in the future should consist entirely of US components, said Metz. “This is becoming increasingly difficult,” Metz said, estimating that “the vast majority” of drones purchased in an earlier phase were probably equipped with Chinese engines. During an upcoming test run in August in Fort Carson, in the US state of Colorado, components such as motors or batteries from China are now strictly prohibited.
Six Ukrainian companies invited to the tests in the state of Colorado must relocate their production to the USA as a condition of future orders from the US government. The goal is to produce drones entirely from domestic production. To this end, they have already founded joint ventures with US manufacturers or are preparing to do so.
Metz was confident that the USA will ultimately catch up with the Ukrainian drone industry: “I see no reason why we shouldn’t be world champions here too.”